Mahadev App's Financial Transactions Scrutinized Amidst Lavish 200-Crore UAE Wedding
In February 2023, a lavish wedding ceremony held in Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE, with a whopping budget of ₹200 crore entirely in cash, has brought the Mahadev Online Book app under the scrutiny of investigative agencies. This event gained significant attention when popular actor Ranbir Kapoor, known for endorsing the app in advertisements, was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning, scheduled for this Friday.
The wedding was organized for Sourabh Chandrakar, one of the promoters of the Mahadev Online Book app. The extravagant affair featured private jet flights for family members, celebrity performances, and the management of the event by a Mumbai-based company. What raised alarms with the ED was the fact that all these expenses were paid in cash.
The ED, in a statement dated September 15, revealed that digital evidence suggests ₹112 crore was funneled through hawala transactions to the event management firm, while ₹42 crore was used in cash for hotel bookings in UAE currency.
Who is Saurabh chandrakar @bhupeshbaghel ??
He is spending 200 cr just on wedding. Bollywood stars are attending his wedding.
This is mohabbat ki dukan of @INCChhattisgarh which is only limited for their friends!! pic.twitter.com/YMQ17WUXD2
— Trupti Garg (@garg_trupti) September 16, 2023
Further investigations into individuals linked to the event management firm yielded evidence of hawala transactions and unaccounted-for cash. The agency noted that several celebrities had endorsed betting entities like Mahadev Online Book app, participating in functions in exchange for substantial fees, which were often routed through questionable transactions ultimately funded by online betting proceeds.
The ED also extended its searches to the travel agency responsible for booking tickets for Mahadev app promoters, their families, and celebrity endorsers. The agency found that M/s Rapid Travels, operated by Dheeraj Ahuja and Vishal Ahuja, played a role in cleverly depositing illicit earnings from betting panels with major ticket providers. These funds were then used to book both domestic and international flights.
ED has conducted searches against the money laundering networks linked with Mahadev APP in cities like Kolkata, Bhopal, Mumbai etc and retrieved large amount of incriminating evidences and has frozen/seized proceeds of crime worth Rs 417 Crore. pic.twitter.com/GXHWCmKOuY
— ED (@dir_ed) September 15, 2023
In addition to this, the ED claimed to have identified other significant players involved in the alleged money laundering activities associated with the Mahadev Online Book app.
The investigation revealed that the primary promoters of the app, Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, originally from Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, have established a significant presence in the UAE. The ED expressed concerns about the ostentatious display of wealth and rapid acquisition of riches by these individuals.
The agency’s findings indicate large-scale hawala operations aimed at diverting betting proceeds into offshore accounts. Moreover, substantial cash expenditures have allegedly been made in India for advertising betting websites and self-promotion, with the intention of attracting new users and franchise seekers.
To date, the Enforcement Directorate has conducted searches at 39 locations and seized illegal assets valued at ₹417 crore as part of its ongoing investigation into these alleged financial irregularities.
